Whonix for Windows, macOS, Linux inside VirtualBox

signify Xfce stable

Download {{{project_name}}} Xfce (VirtualBox) (testers) (FREE!)

Read Verify_the_images to learn more about the verification process for the images.

testers Xfce

Optional: Digital signature verification.

Version (testers): 17.3.9.2

Only experienced users: This step is only useful and recommended for very experienced users. All other user please skip this step.

Digital signatures are a tool enhancing download security. They are commonly used across the internet and nothing special to worry about.
Optional, not required: Digital signatures are optional and not mandatory for using Whonix, but an extra security measure for advanced users. If you've never used them before, it might be overwhelming to look into them at this stage. Just ignore them for now.
Learn more: Curious? If you are interested in becoming more familiar with advanced computer security concepts, you can learn more about digital signatures here digital software signatures.

Choose your verification method below. This step requires that you have already downloaded {{{project_name}}} Xfce.

OpenPGP Xfce testers

signify Xfce testers

Download VirtualBox for Windows (FREE!)

Read Verify_the_images to learn more about the verification process for the images.

Install VirtualBox

Download and install VirtualBox for your operating system.

Windows

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package

If you see the following error message:

Figure: Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package Error

Oracle VM VirtualBox needs Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable package installed first. Please install and restart the installation of Oracle VM VirtualBox.

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package must be installed. ^[1]

Microsoft Visual C++ 2019 Redistributable Package (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

VirtualBox for Windows is not signed with OpenPGP / gpg. It is signed with authenticode.

After downloading the VirtualBox installer exe and starting it, the user should verify that sure that Verified publisher: is Oracle Corporation.

Figure: Windows signature signature verification window for VirtualBox

Advanced users might wish to learn more about Authenticode (Windows Digital Software Signatures) to perform a deeper verification.

macOS

Select your hardware platform.

Intel-based MacBook

Download VirtualBox for macOS (Intel) (FREE!)

Apple Silicon

Download VirtualBox for macOS (Apple Silicon, M1, M2, ...) (FREE!)

Developers only: At time of writing, running Whonix on Apple Silicon is still for developers only!
No downloadable Whonix image available yet: Whonix for VirtualBox OVA is not yet available for Apple Silicon-based systems.
Download link above not functional: The download link above will not be functional. It is for Intel/AMD64-based computers only.
See also: macOS

Optional: Digital signature verification.

VirtualBox for macOS is not signed with OpenPGP / gpg. It is notarized for macOS's gatekeeper.

See also Apple's official documentation Safely open apps on your Mac.

Ubuntu

For Ubuntu host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

Automated VirtualBox Installation : Ubuntu users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Tested on October 2022 using Ubuntu version 22.04. Older versions are not recommended.

Command Line (All Users)

On the host : Open a terminal.

Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-generic

Add your current user to group vboxusers. ^[2]

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Software Center (only if not using SecureBoot)

Ubuntu Software Center can be used to install VirtualBox. The process is similar to installation of most other applications.

This only works for users with computers that do not have "SecureBoot" enabled. If the user's computer is using "SecureBoot" the user need to either disable "SecureBoot" in the BIOS or use the command line based instructions. ^[3]

Open the start menu.

Click on the Ubuntu Software Center icon.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center icon

Click on the magnifying glass to search. → Type virtualbox. → Press enter. → In the search results, click on VirtualBox.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - Search For VirtualBox

Click on Install and wait.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center Search Result

Installation of VirtualBox has been completed.

When the installation has completed, the install icon changes to the uninstall icon. Do not click the uninstall button.

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center - VirtualBox has been installed

Click on Show Applications. → Click on Virtual Box start the VirtualBox graphical user interface (GUI).

Figure: Ubuntu Software Center #4

Done.

The procedure of installing and starting VirtualBox is complete.

Debian

For Debian host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

Automated VirtualBox Installation : Debian users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Select your Debian release below to get the matching instructions.

Debian bookworm (stable) or bullseye (oldstable)

To acquire the Recommended VirtualBox version tested with Whonix, package virtualbox-qt should be installed from Debian fasttrack repository according to the following instructions. ^[4]

On the host : Open a terminal.

Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

Install the Debian fasttrack signing key.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends fasttrack-archive-keyring

Add the Debian fasttrack repository.

echo 'deb https://fasttrack.debian.net/debian/ bookworm-fasttrack main contrib non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fasttrack.list

Add Debian the backports repository. ^[5]

echo 'deb https://deb.debian.org/debian bookworm-backports main contrib non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/backports.list

Update the package lists again. ^[6]

sudo apt update

Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-$(dpkg --print-architecture)

Add your current user to group vboxusers. ^[2]

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Debian Testing

VirtualBox can be installed by adding the Debian unstable (sid) repository and APT pinning. The details of this are unspecific to Whonix and undocumented.

Debian Unstable

VirtualBox can be installed by adding the Debian unstable (sid) repository.

sudo apt update

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt linux-headers-$(dpkg --print-architecture)

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

The details of this are unspecific to Whonix and undocumented.

Other Debian Releases

Other Debian releases might work, but this is untested. In case of other Debian release:

See also "Linux host operating systems" below.

Kicksecure

Kicksecure^™ host operating systems Choose an option from the following table. Choose either Option (A) OR Option (B).

Automated VirtualBox Installation : Kicksecure^™ users could alternatively use the Whonix Linux Installer for VirtualBox. In this case, this wiki page can be completely ignored. No other steps from this wiki page need to be applied because the automated installer will handle everything.

Manual VirtualBox Installation : Follow the instructions below.

Instructions for Kicksecure^™ are simpler than instructions for Debian. ^[7]

On the host: Open a terminal.

Update package lists.

sudo apt update

Install VirtualBox and Linux kernel headers.

sudo apt install --no-install-recommends virtualbox-qt

Add your current user to group vboxusers. ^[2]

sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers

Done.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox host software is complete.

Linux

Hosts using a non-Debian operating system:

Install VirtualBox as per the normal mechanism for your Linux distribution. No special instructions for Whonix are required. The installation of a recent VirtualBox host software is unspecific to Whonix. Consult the documentation of your Linux distribution.
Whonix has has been tested with, expects VirtualBox version latest.
For example the outdated VirtualBox version 5.2.18 is incompatible.

General recommendations for users using Linux as a host operating system:

Linux kernel version:

The recommended host Linux kernel version is the same version that Debian bookworm is using, see linux-image-amd64.
Newer host Linux kernel versions are likely to break VirtualBox VMs in many ways since these are unsupported by VirtualBox. ^[8]

Host operating system. The recommended host Linux distributions are:

preferably the stable version of Kicksecure^™ 17, or
Debian Linux version bookworm.

Import Whonix into VirtualBox

For Whonix VirtualBox import instructions, please press the learn more button on the right.

Follow these steps to import Whonix into VirtualBox. Click images to enlarge

Start VirtualBox
Click on File then choose Import Appliance...
Navigate and select Whonix image and press next
Do NOT change anything! Just click on Import
Then press Agree
Wait until Whonix .ova has been imported
Now start Whonix-Gateway and Whonix-Workstation

Miscellaneous

There are also Video Tutorials.

If you still need help, please check the Support page.

For optional, alternative command line import instructions, see VirtualBox, manual VM import.

Start Whonix

Starting Whonix is simple:

Start VirtualBox.
Double-click the Whonix-Gateway^™ and Whonix-Workstation^™.

Support the Future of Whonix

Whonix is made possible thanks to the donation of people like you.

Please support the Whonix development with a donation.

Donate to Whonix

CLI

Symbol CLI preview — Whonix CLI in VirtualBox

Whonix with command line interface (CLI).
This version of Whonix is designed to run inside VirtualBox.
Whonix with CLI is a version suited for advanced users -- those who want Whonix without a graphical user interface (GUI). Everyone else should install the user-friendly Whonix VirtualBox with GUI Xfce.

Please follow these steps to install Whonix CLI for VirtualBox.

This page is fully functional without JavaScript, but enabling JavaScript significantly enhances the user experience.

Download Whonix CLI

Whonix CLI is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux.

stable CLI

Download Whonix CLI (VirtualBox) (stable) (FREE!)

Optional: Digital signature verification.

Version (stable): 17.3.9.9

Only experienced users: This step is only useful and recommended for very experienced users. All other user please skip this step.

Digital signatures are a tool enhancing download security. They are commonly used across the internet and nothing special to worry about.
Optional, not required: Digital signatures are optional and not mandatory for using Whonix, but an extra security measure for advanced users. If you've never used them before, it might be overwhelming to look into them at this stage. Just ignore them for now.
Learn more: Curious? If you are interested in becoming more familiar with advanced computer security concepts, you can learn more about digital signatures here digital software signatures.

Choose your verification method below. This step requires that you have already downloaded Whonix CLI.

OpenPGP CLI stable

signify CLI stable

Download {{{project_name}}} CLI (VirtualBox) (testers) (FREE!)

Read Verify_the_images to learn more about the verification process for the images.

testers CLI

Optional: Digital signature verification.

Version (testers): 17.3.9.2

Only experienced users: This step is only useful and recommended for very experienced users. All other user please skip this step.

Digital signatures are a tool enhancing download security. They are commonly used across the internet and nothing special to worry about.
Optional, not required: Digital signatures are optional and not mandatory for using Whonix, but an extra security measure for advanced users. If you've never used them before, it might be overwhelming to look into them at this stage. Just ignore them for now.
Learn more: Curious? If you are interested in becoming more familiar with advanced computer security concepts, you can learn more about digital signatures here digital software signatures.

Choose your verification method below. This step requires that you have already downloaded {{{project_name}}} CLI.

OpenPGP CLI testers

signify CLI testers